Although I’d now class his as a main character, he started out as a secondary character. I just love everything about him. His humour, his flamboyant style, his love of glitter and Shadowhunters with black hair and blue eyes… It’s safe to say that Cassandra Clare’s books would not be the same without him and he has turned out to be just as popular, if not more so, than some of the main characters.

2. Nikolai Kretzsky from Between Shades of Gray

Kretzsky was the character that, although he was meant to be disliked, I knew that he wasn’t like the rest of the NKVD officers in this book. His story and his character development is a very important one. Little note for you all: if you haven’t read this book, READ IT.

3. Neville Longbottom
from Harry Potter

Oh, Neville. He’s the underdog that you root for constantly
through the Harry Potter books. I loved reading his clumsy, blundering moments.
It was great to see him get his moment to shine in the last book!

4. Finnick Odair
from The Hunger Games trilogy

Do you have any idea how much I cried over Finnick in
Mockingjay? I loved him from the moment he came sauntering up to Katniss in
that loincloth, offering that damn sugar cube. With his humour and his love for
Annie, what’s not to love about Finnick?

5. Haymitch from The
Hunger Games

This series just wouldn’t have been the same without our
favourite drunk, Haymitch. He provided humour to the story at times, but there
was also so much more to his character.

6. Luna Lovegood
from Harry Potter

Another secondary Harry Potter character that I need to
express my love for. Although she’s introduced as the ‘crazy’ characters, I
knew that there was going to be more to her than meets the eye. I love how
sweet and positive she is.

7. Mason Ashford
from the Vampire Academy

Every YA series needs that funny, adorable guy that harbours
a crush on the protagonist. Mason was that character and I loved him.

8. Severus Snape from
Harry Potter

Yep, another Harry Potter character. How can I not mention
Snape? His story in the Deathly Hallows caused so many tears!

9. Dave the Laugh from
the Georgia Nicholson books by Louise Rennison

I know he’d probably classed as a main character by the end,
but for the first half of the series, poor Dave was the little underdog. I
rooted for him so much.

10. CeeCee Webb from
The Mediator Series

It’s no secret that I love The Mediator Series by Meg Cabot.
I love CeeCee throughout the books. She is the type of friends I’d love to have
around. She doesn’t care what people thinks and I love that about her.

Saturday, 24 August 2013

Okay, so I have been a huge fan of The Mortal Instruments for quite a few years now and I, like other fans, have waited a long, long time for this movie. After the casting was completed, I had such high expectations for the movie because of how perfect the cast was. Then after seeing all of the trailer, I was even more excited because the were edited so beautifully. Then, the night before the film was released, the critics reviews started being released. And boy were they harsh. But I never let a critic put me off, so on opening day I got all runed up and headed to the cinema.

Right,
I am an honest blogger. I’m not going to defend everything single thing about
something I love, just because I love it. Like The Hunger Games, I’m a huge
fan, but could admit when the movie made some mistakes. So I’m not going to say
that EVERYTHING about the film was out of this world.

However, the first thing I must say is that I will not hear
a bad word about our cast. Every single cast member was absolutely fantastic
and I cannot fault any of them. I have to say, Jared Harris really surprised me
as Hodge! He was so amazing, especially at the end!

What I will say is that I didn’t like how they went about
the whole brother and sister thing. I understand why they made those changes,
but it was a bit anticlimactic to have Hodge tell Valentine to lie to them
about being related. I also wasn’t sure about the last half an hour in general.
There are so many changes with Valentine, the cup and the ending in general.
I’m also worried for how these changes are going to affect City of Ashes. It
went quite quickly and things seemed a bit unclear. It makes me wonder how well
non-readers will cope understanding the plot.

I also think that Magnus’s party was far too cut down. To me
and a lot of fans, that chapter about his party is one of the key moments in
the book and I just felt like it was very rushed in the film. I do, however,
ADORE the fact that they showed Magnus healing Alec. I’ve also heard quite a
few negative reviews about Godfrey and I’m really confused by that because I
thought he was perfect, his acting as well as his looks. What I didn’t like was
the voice dubbing. Who on earth made this decision?? Godfrey speaks clear
English and I really hope we get an explanation as to why they felt this was
necessary.

Kevin and Jemima – I just have too much love for both of
them. They owned the screen as Alec and Izzy. They were exactly how I imagined
the characters and Alec’s jealousy is so well done. His sassy lines to Clary
were one of the highlights for me. Oh and Aidan. Aidan Turner, just marry me
already. He was a great choice for Luke. Lena and Jonathan, once again, I
cannot express how great they were.

Of course, I have to also express my love for Jamie and
Lily. Jamie, Oh My God. I’ve supported him as Jace from the moment he was
rumoured to be getting the part and he did not disappoint me. HE IS JACE. Lily
and he are fantastic. The greenhouse scene was something I was torn on though.
It was a great scene, but I don’t think they should have played Heart by Heart
during it. It should have been one of the gorgeous and epic pieces from our
wonderful composer, because his music was perfect and it would have been better
for the atmosphere. The aftermath of the kiss though, when Simon finds them? I
LOVED IT.

Okay, so do you have a week or 30 to talk about how much I
love Robert Sheehan as Simon? I don’t even have words to describe how perfect
he is. He captures Simon’s humor PERFECTLY. The funny tension between him and
Jace is fabulous!

The humor is another thing that I’m extremely pleased with.
They kept so many of Cassie’s classic dialogue in the book and there were so
many hilarious moments. I don’t know why, but Simon drawing horns and a mustache
on Clary’s drawing of Jace cracked me up for ages. I was actually crying with
laughter over that tiny part.

Let’s talk about Valentine’s henchmen. Now, I was expecting
them to be evil and scary, but making them quite funny was a brilliant move.
The fact that they were losers was hilarious.

Other pointers I liked: EFFECTS WERE AMAZING. Also, the Pandemonium scene was
actual perfection. The Hotel Dumort scene was also perfect.

Other points I wasn’t happy about: Lack of backstory between
Valentine and Luke. This was one thing that I really thing the film needed to
show. Also, Jocelyn being hidden at the institute, whaaaat?

So, overall I really REALLY loved the first half of this
film. I do think that things went a bit wild during the last half though.
However the characters are exactly as they should be and I’m extremely pleased
with our amazing cast. We are so incredibly lucky to have had a film adaptation
of our favorite series, so keep that in mind if you don’t like any of the
changes in the film. I think critics have been very harsh on the film, because
as a whole, it was what I hoped for and was a great film that was well worth
the wait.

Friday, 16 August 2013

So, as you probably already know, the Vampire Academy series by the lovely Richelle Mead is being adapted to film. Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters is due out in February next year and we've just been given our first trailer for the movie.

I've seen quite a few negative thoughts online about the trailer, but I really liked it! I think the editors have done a great job in making the trailer look completely different to the other YA film adaptations out there at the moment. They've taken a different approach and it works really well to make the film stand out.

The trailer has also confirmed for me that the casting directors really got it right. Zoey Deutch looks awesome as Rose and even though we didn't get to see much of Danila Kozlovsky as Dimitri, I have total faith in him!

For people who aren't liking the look of this trailer, you have to remember that this is merely a tiny bit of footage from the movie. It's edited to also capture the attention of people who have not yet been introduced to the books. I'm sure that once we start getting more footage, more fans will be reassured.

Tuesday, 13 August 2013

The trailer for the film adaptation of Meg Rosoff's How I Live Now has arrived!

It's been a few years since I've read the book but I've known about the film adaptation for a while now and I've been excited to finally get a look at the film!

First of all, the characters look perfectly cast. They are exactly like I imagined them! And the footage in the trailer looks amazing. I'm wondering how the film plans to address the relationship between Daisy and Edmond.

Thursday, 8 August 2013

Goodreads Synopsis:With Judy Blume-like honesty and insight, this sequel to Anatomy of a Boyfriend is about life after first love--romance, sex, friendship, family, and the ups and downs of life as a single girl.After
everything that happened—my first boyfriend, my first time, my first
breakup—jumping back into the dating game seemed like the least healthy
thing I could do. It’s not that I didn’t want to fall in love again,
since that’s about the best feeling ever. But as a busy college premed
still raw from heartbreak, which is the worst feeling ever, I figured
I’d lie low for a while. Of course, as soon as I stopped looking for
someone, an impossibly amazing—and devastatingly cute—guy came along,
and I learned that having a new boyfriend is the quickest way to recover
from losing your old one.The moment we got together, all my
preconceptions about romance and sex were turned upside down. I
discovered physical and emotional firsts I never knew existed. I learned
to let go of my past by living in the present. It was thrilling. It was
hot. It was just what the doctor ordered.But I couldn’t avoid my future forever.In Daria Snadowsky’s daring follow-up to Anatomy of a Boyfriend, eighteen-year-old Dominique explores the relationship between love and lust, and the friendships that see us through.

My Review:

After liking Anatomy of Boyfriend, I was so excited to get
the chance to review the sequel. With that being said, it is pretty easy to
read the sequel if you haven’t already read the first book!

The story follows Dominique during summer, after completing
her first year of college. This is when she meets Guy. At first, she has a relationship
on her mind, but Guy doesn’t want that. In his mind, the time then spend
together has an expiry date at the end of summer. Dom wanted commitment, but
after a bit thinking, she decides to take the chance of a no-strings-attached relationship,
hoping it’ll help her to finally get over her ex-boyfriend.

First thing I love about Dom – she is the most relatable
character to read about. Her situations, what she feels, it’s all so realistic!
I love that about this story, so many girls of that age range will be able to
relate to it in some way or another.

I also adore her friendship with Amy. I love that it’s
tested in this book, like every friendship. But, of course, they come out
stronger. Their friendship is one of the things I loved most throughout the
story.

One of the main themes in this book though, is her relationship
with Guy. I loved Guy. I think every girl needs a guy like Guy! It was great to
see Dom finally take charge of her body and figure things out. The book
realistically captures how sex isn’t something that’s perfect from the start.
It’s different for everyone and finding what’s right for you can be
frustrating!

There are plenty of laughs along the way, and some sweet
moments too. Dom’s narration of the story is fantastic and I love how much she
develops throughout the story. You feel so proud of her in the last few
chapters!

I loved the ending of this story and I found the last few
pages to be quite empowering. If you want Hollywood-style endings, you’re not
going to find it here. But what you will get is a story with amazing characters
that you won’t forget and a relatable plot that you can love and learn from.